Building On Faith

By Thomas Greer

Prestonwood Baptist's 7,000-seat sanctuary and classroom space under construction

The man behind the construction of two of America's most recognized church construction projects talks about the importance of planning, teamwork and taking a uniquely Christian approach to large-scale building.

As the former administrative pastor at both Saddleback Valley Community Church in Lake Forest, Calif. and Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas, I served as the owner's representative for both Saddleback and Prestonwood, which each presented unique challenges.

At Saddleback, because its new campus was located in an area that included wetlands, endangered and threatened species and related habitat, the significant issues of this project were numerous--land acquisition, entitlement, site development and financing being the most prominent. The church met in a tent and portable units for nearly three years on the new campus until the first building was completed. This was a multipurpose building that could seat more than 3,000 people. The construction of the building was fairly simple and did not present any significant problems. In fact, the American Institute of Architects awarded the project for outstanding achievement in religious design in 1996, drawing attention to its "elegant and simple solution to a complex program."

Prestonwood was a different story, however. Phase 1 included the construction of about 400,000 square feet of space, including a 7,000-seat worship center, offices, adult classrooms and a three-story children's education building on 138 acres. The significant issues of this project revolved around its "fast-track" nature--construction began nearly eight months before documents were finalized. This put tremendous pressure on the design team to rush through the preparation of construction documents, and it also pressured the contractors and myself to make quick decisions to keep the project moving. Yet in spite of these problems, the general contractor on this project was awarded the Regional Excellence in Construction Award for Institutional Construction. Given the project's trials, the receipt of this award was really a team victory.

Even though the issues that created complexities in these projects differed, I identified certain universal principles necessary for the success of any large church building project.

Let's talk about planning

Realtors will tell you that the most important consideration in the acquisition of real estate is location, location, location. And master planners will say that the be-all-end-all consideration is parking, parking, parking. But from my perspective, the single most important step is planning, planning and yes, more planning.

The fact is, most churches short-change this process. Simply stated, a project can be broken down into the following phases:

• Strategic Planning
• Financial Planning
• Design
• Construction
• Move-in

Churches like to focus on design and construction and rush through strategic and financial planning. We place emphasis on assigning someone to the project that will oversee the construction, take a hard line with contractors, and eliminate change orders. The fact is, most change orders are the result of insufficient planning, failure to resolve issues during the planning process, and unreasonable expectations. And here we come back to the all-important word: planning. The best time to solve problems, spare headaches and save money is before construction begins.

The decision to build is, for many churches, a knee-jerk reaction to a perceived need for additional space. The result: same buildings as the old ones, just bigger. In reality, the decision to construct a new space is an opportunity to expand the ministry of the church, to think outside of the box and be innovative, to make ministry more relevant. All of this requires strategic planning.

Strategic planning

Saddleback is a shining example of a church that placed proper emphasis on strategic planning. Anyone who has read Purpose Driven Church by Dr. Rick Warren knows the importance Saddleback places on identifying those it hopes to reach and what its purposes are as a church. As a result, the design of the campus and buildings focuses on furthering these purposes. Once the difficult entitlement and environmental issues were resolved, the design and construction of the building was simple.

One of the premier firms specializing in the design of sound, video and lighting systems is Acoustic Dimensions in Addison, Texas. As a principal in that firm, Craig Janssen has been involved in hundreds of church construction projects. Janssen's biggest complaint is that churches do not spend enough time developing a strategic plan.

"They waste money on equipment and facilities that really don't help the ministry," he says, "and they cut costs in areas that do."

Some of the questions you need to answer in the strategic planning phase are:

• Why do we need to build?
• Who are we trying to reach?
• What are the things we want to do that we cannot with our existing facilities?
• If acquisition of land is involved, is it large enough to accommodate our vision?
• Have we analyzed the proper relationships between building capacities and parking needs?
• Have we analyzed our growth to determine the appropriate size for the worship center/sanctuary?
• How many services can we reasonably conduct on a weekend?
• Are education spaces planned in proper relationship to the capacity of the worship center?
• In what order should buildings be constructed, and what is the proper relationship of buildings to each other?
• Will we be able to provide adequate office space as our paid and volunteer staff grows to accommodate the needs of our growing congregation?
• What are the expectations of our church concerning the feel of our buildings and campus?

Financial planning

The decorative stained glass above Prestonwood's lobby entrance depicts Biblical stories.

The financial planning phase is a fluid process that involves more than just the cash flow of the project. It also offers an opportunity for stewardship training. In my opinion, the capital campaign is one of the most important events in the history of a church--even more important than the building project itself. A capital campaign, if done properly, inspires a huge leap in the spiritual growth of the congregation as they respond sacrificially. As members stretch in faith and trust God to meet their needs, He honors their commitment with a closer relationship.

While it was exciting to be part of the massive Prestonwood project, it was more exciting to see its spiritual growth. The intensive emphasis on prayer and fasting during the capital campaign resulted in nothing less than a spiritual revival for the church. The members pledged $36 million, of which $35 million was actually received.

Begin developing budgets for the project as soon as possible in order to determine the feasibility of the project or the number of phases necessary to complete it. In the beginning, these budgets may involve wild guesses but at least they provide some guidelines and limitations as design commences.

Owner-provided contingencies in the early stages of planning should be in the range of 10 to 20 percent of estimated costs. It is important to review and revise these budgets as design progresses and when it becomes more apparent the amount of funds God is providing, either through the capital campaign or debt financing. By the time construction documents have been completed by the architects and priced by the contractor, you should be able to reduce owner-provided contingencies to about 5 percent.

The design phase

The church and staff begin to take notice when the design phase begins. Architects and other members of the design team begin to generate drawings and people have something to look at for the first time. The design phase commences after strategic planning and can run concurrent with the financial plan that continues to develop as the design is finalized.

During the design phase, you need to balance between staff and volunteer involvement. Staff members should be the driving force, offering direction for the design team. It is important, however, to provide opportunities for key volunteers for input into the design process. While paid staff members function as the ministry experts, it is the volunteers who will be giving sacrificially so that the vision and mission of the church is obtained. Key leaders should be ready to take ownership of the project.

One necessary step in reducing owner- initiated changes and change orders during construction is to review thoroughly the design with key staff members (especially the senior pastor) at the completion of schematic design and design development. At the end of these reviews, staff members should sign the drawings, indicating that they understand and accept what they are being provided in the facilities. This helps minimize expensive changes after construction begins.

Move-in

Another oft-forgotten area of planning is the actual move-in. It is not uncommon for a church to be just a few days from move-in and realize that their staff is not adequately trained to operate the new building. Sound, technical and mechanical systems may be much more complex than the old facility, and the church could be forced to contract with expensive consultants and engineers to operate them until they can hire qualified staff.

Teamwork

Etched glass on the sanctuary doors at Saddleback literally reflects the spirituality found inside.

For projects over $10 million, the first member and captain of the team should be the owner's representative. A common mistake churches make is to hire the architect first. When the architect is hired first, you have skipped the strategic and financial planning phases and gone straight to design. Architects are designers. It is not their responsibility to do the strategic plan for the church. A good owner's rep will make sure that proper planning has taken place before any consultants are hired. The earlier the owner's rep is selected, the better. When he or she has "caught the vision" for the project, they can do a better job of keeping everyone focused on the vision and values of the church.

As the project progresses, the owner's rep will be the one point of contact for the church. He will serve as the liaison between the church staff and committees on one side, and the contractors by way of the design team on the other. Any communication from staff (including the senior pastor) or committees to the contractors or design team should go through the owner's rep, and vice versa. Without this control, the design team and contractors is barraged with conflicting instructions, resulting in expensive mistakes.

The owner's rep should manage the process of selecting the architect and other members of the design team as well as the general contractor or construction manager if applicable. During construction, this person represents the interests of the church, and the contractors take their instructions from him. The general contractor for the Prestonwood project noted that the single most important factor in the successful completion of the project was a clearly designated person as the point of contact.

Once the design team and contractors have been selected, bring the team together for a partnering session. You may even want to use an independent facilitator to lead it. The team should include a few of the key church committee members. The purpose of the session should be to give everyone a chance to share their expectations on the project and discuss timelines and other important issues. Let the contractors voice their concerns regarding the reasonableness of the project budget and timelines.

Also, this is a great opportunity for the church to establish a spiritual attitude for the project. When we told the contractors for the Prestonwood project that we wanted to develop a strong spiritual presence on the project so that the workers might feel the satisfaction of being involved in a project of great significance, they implemented the following:

• Every worker was required to see the video before he reported to the job site. It was the responsibility of the general contractor to make sure his subcontractors were complying.
• The contractor built and erected a steel cross at the intersection of certain grid lines on the plans. A mark on the side of the cross indicated a certain elevation. This became the "spiritual benchmark" for construction of the building.
• Every Monday morning, the leadership team on the project met at the benchmark cross to pray for the safety of the workers and for the challenges we faced. The workers walked by the cross toward the building knowing that prayers were being offered on their behalf. It was a powerful image.

Problems, especially those that generate change orders, have the potential of tearing apart the unity of the team. How we respond in these situations has a tremendous impact on the contractors as they see the testimony of the church in action. When things appear to be going wrong and tempers heat up, a real opportunity arises for the church to show the same level of grace, compassion and forgiveness that our Lord has shown us. Many times, churches squeeze every penny they can out of a contractor in the name of good stewardship. But stewardship is not about getting the most for the money. Good stewardship is using resources in a way that brings honor and glory to our Lord. Sometimes it may be more honoring to God if we spend a little bit more and a contractor finishes a job feeling he was treated fairly rather than gouged by a penny-pinching church.

Part of being a good team member is showing your appreciation. At Prestonwood, we hosted a Thanksgiving lunch at the job site for the workers. Because many of the workers on the project were Hispanic, we hosted a Good Friday fish fry and worship service in Spanish. At one point on the project, we had experienced nearly three weeks of 100-degree-plus heat. The steel erectors were working 100 feet in the air on beams that registered 140 degrees. One day, I ordered 70 gallons of rootbeer and 35 gallons of ice cream. We shut down the job site at 2 in the afternoon and had rootbeer floats.

Some final tips for a successful project:

• Set a realistic budget and timeline at the beginning. A worship center that seats thousands of people will take at least 20 months to construct and cost much more than $100 per square foot. By being realistic, you save the embarrassment of going back to the congregation at a later date to defend the inflated project cost and delay of completion.
• Recognize the problems that can occur when you take a fast-track approach. It increases the likelihood of surprises. The possibility of conflicts in the final drawings is increased since they have been done piecemeal. Maintain an adequate contingency to cover the costs resulting from the surprises.
• Keep the congregation informed of progress. Video updates, occasional tours of the site and special events for key leaders are a few ideas. Remember, it's their project too.
• Select a small committee of respected members to work with the owner's rep to review and approve cost-cutting recommendations and change orders above a certain amount.
• Once you are certain the project is the result of a God-given vision for the church, do not turn back. Circumstances will arise that may challenge your commitment, but keep going. God will provide the resources necessary to complete the process. When the project is managed properly and the congregation takes ownership of it, people witness God work in their lives as His vision unfolds before their eyes.

Thomas Greer is a Senior Associate Pastor and the CFO of Mariners Church in Irvine, Calif. He is a licensed CPA, a Fellow in Church Business Administration and an ordained minister.